Morning Prayer 6/100. On the road
On the road
On the road just shy of 10 hours last Thursday, Cindy and I drove Austin to Beaumont (4:45) and back (4:50). In between we were blessed by attending my step-father’s funeral: remembering, celebrating, consoling, and visiting.
Reflecting on the trip, I realized that for me going someplace is motivational. In speeches and presentations, I’ve readily denied the adage that “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” My perspective is if you don’t know where you’re going you don’t have any “there” in mind.
Having a destination, whether a funeral or a vacation or a business meeting or lunch in a well-liked restaurant, gives me both a target and a reason. And when I know where I want to get to and I know why I want to get there, I’m ready to go, ready to enjoy the drive. Even if it’s almost 5 hours.
Sometimes simply getting there is motivation, regardless of any greater reason.
The motion from here to wherever always gives me ample reflection.
- I get to appreciate the sense that I am moving from one place to another. I can comprehend both that I am moving over the earth and that the earth is moving beneath me.
- I get to look around at cars ahead of me, cars in my rearview mirror, cars approaching. I glance at rolling fields and stoic houses and storefronts and giant rolls of hay. I get to imagine what they are and do and cause.
- I get to stir all the viewing and imagining around in my emotional barrel and savor what I’m feeling. Some of the feelings are from memories. Some of the feelings are from projections of what’s to be. Most of the feelings are from here and now.
Cindy made the trip with me, though she never met Marvin and she knew few of those at his funeral. Her wonderful company allowed me to appreciate that I am never alone. My reflections and my feelings, too, remind me whenever I am on the road, for whatever purpose and wherever I am going, I am never alone. Neither are you. None of us is.
Companion God,
time on the road — actual and figurative —
I move with you and you always move with me.
You navigate my journey when I let myself listen,
let my heart hear your direction.
I enjoy our journey and the sights you enable me to see,
the experiences you let me have,
the feelings you give me.
I am never alone. I am always moving.
My trip from one physical place to another just reminds me
I am traveling continuously and safely
with you.
That is the trip. My joyous voyage.
Thank you, God. Amen.
Love and blessings,
07/13/2015
In: Beauty, Christ Spirit, God, Happiness, Home, Inner Peace, Joy, Life, Oneness, Prayer, Spirituality · Tagged with: Christ, Energy, God, Joy, Love, Peace, praying, spiritual simplicity
Morning Prayer 5/100. Saharan dust
Saharan dust
Saharan dust has been around much longer than we’ve been thinking the world is getting smaller. The brownish haze noticed lately across Southeast and Central Texas is current proof of what’s been true for as long as there’s been this planet, as long as we’ve been on it.
- We’re all connected…in some ways.
- What goes around, comes around…perhaps on the winds of change
- This land (this Earth) is our land…to share in infinite ways
During the summer months, prevailing east winds from Africa across the Caribbean can stir up massive dust storms from the Sahara Desert, carry them thousands of miles across the Atlantic, and transport a hazy sky all the way to Texas. The dust clouds tend to be very dry, and thus make it much harder for tropical storms or hurricanes to form. (KXAN, 6/29/2015)
I’m enjoying the idea that the wonderful presence and power of nature connects us literally by bringing us dust from far away places. Remember the soccer ball lost in Japan’s tsunami (2011) that washed ashore in Alaska more than a year later. Connection. (NBC News, 4/23/2012)
I love that the earth’s geophysical connections, thanks to winds and oceans, dust and soccer balls, beautifully symbolizes our human connection. The chemicals of which a human is made — that Biblical “dust” — are common to every human being. The estimate of their across-the-counter value ranges from about $160 to $1800, depending on the local prices of those chemicals, I guess.
The true beauty that is of inestimable value is our spiritual Oneness. Our true origin is not from the same chemicals, nor from the desert dust or ocean salt, but from the grace of Spirit. The expression of Spirit, whether as breath or word or blessing, is our creation. We are more than connected. More than two places sharing dust or two shores passing a soccer ball back and forth. The Spirit you are is the Spirit I am.
My version of namaste: The Christ Spirit I am is the Christ Spirit you are.
God of Creation, God of Connection
thank you for letting us realize connection
with one another, throughout your universe
in so many ways.
Allow us to see dust on our car’s windshield
as more than a nuisance.
Allow us to hear the rhythm of ocean waves
as more than simply a product of winds.
Allow us to know the Love that is power to us all
as more than an emotion, as truly your Presence
in all of us, in each of us.
And so it is. And so we thank you, God.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
07/10/2015
In: Beauty, Christ Spirit, Happiness, Life, Love, Oneness, Peace, Prayer, Praying, Spirituality · Tagged with: Christ, God, Oneness, spiritual simplicity
Morning Prayer 4/100. Yin yang
Yin yang
Our yin yang is always present.
Very shortly Cindy and I will drive to Beaumont, TX, for the memorial service/funeral for my step-dad, Marvin. Two days ago I checked the St. Mark’s website to verify time of service and saw, listed in the UpComing Events, the funeral for Mary Ellen Wisrodt.
Marvin came into Mom’s (and so, into my) life 15 years ago. I was 50. Mary Ellen and A.V. lived across the street from us on Baldwin Drive when we first moved to Beaumont. I was 3. I last saw Mary Ellen when I was 5 and we moved across town.
Yin-yang is that element of Chinese philosophy that describes how apparently opposite forces are actually complementary and interrelate to one another. The incidence of my spying Mary Ellen’s name, recalling their house across the street; a memory-trigger definitely out of the blue. The incidence of two individuals at such time-separate places in my life connected by their transitions and celebrations at the same church. The complement of realizing human (life)time and appreciating eternity’s timelessness. The consciousness of sorrow for the loss and gratitude for the being.
The yin-yang. Duality forming a whole.
MotherFather God,
the blessings of living and the blessings of eternity
more than complement one another.
Our blessing from you, expressed by our life
in human form, with human joys and human efforts,
is the smaller consciousness.
Our grace from you, known as our Being of Spirit,
in the truth that is forever, without end
is the eternal awareness.
The beautiful blending of the two
is cause for our thanks.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
07/09/2015
In: Affirmation, God, Happiness, Home, Inner Peace, Life, Prayer, Praying · Tagged with: Affirmations, Peace, Prayer, praying, spiritual simplicity, Strength
Morning Prayer 3/100. Happiness is you.
Happiness is who you are
Cindy and I saw Hector and the Search for Happiness a couple of days ago. My kind of movie: fast-paced, lots of different settings, clever devices, and a strong message.
The story is built around Hector’s discovery of many messages regarding, yes, the meaning of happiness. I will probably explore several of them during the next 97 Morning Prayer postings.
For today, my fave: Happiness is being loved for who you are.
The deep-seeded message is implied: and not for what you do or what you have. Or what you pretend to be.
Here’s what challenged me. Living that truth cannot happen until you believe it. And it’s hard to believe it’s true until you truly know who you are. For me and maybe for you the early years were all about learning, discovering, deciding who I want to be and who I am. The middle years were allowing myself to realize and accept that they are the same.
Discovery takes patience. It takes perseverance. It may take two-steps-forward-one-step-back. It may even mean steps in a different direction. It definitely takes listening to your heart. Listening closely. Listening slowly. Listening without being in a hurry to answer.
Two wonderful books explore how the discovering takes the front half of one’s life and how fulfilling the discovery fills the back half.
- Richard Rohr: Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
- Sue Monk Kidd: When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life Sacred Questions.
God of Happiness,
I am delighted knowing at last that you do not give me happiness.
Instead I know you give me the power to find happiness, to create happiness, and to know happiness.
Knowing I am loved for who I am is a powerful happiness producer.
Thank you for allowing me to be in charge of that.
Thank you for allowing me to know and love my Self.
Thank you for allowing me to allow others to love my Self.
Thank you that I AM. Thank you that I AM Love. Thank you that I AM loved.
And so it is!
Amen.
Love and blessings,
07/08/2015
In: Affirmation, Commitment, God, Happiness, Joy, Life, Peace, Prayer, Praying, Spirituality · Tagged with: Energy, God, Joy, Love, Peace, Prayer, praying, spiritual simplicity
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